ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
Law enforcement agencies in the Duke City are hiring, with a big focus on diversity and inclusion.
On Saturday, the NAACP Albuquerque branch hosted a recruitment forum with leaders from the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The purpose of the event was to encourage more people of color to consider careers within the two agencies.
"Communities of color, they don’t trust law enforcement. They have a tendency to be apprehension as far as working with law enforcement," Dr. Harold Bailey, president of the local NAACP branch, said.
For years, APD officials have been vocal about their need for police officers. The department was shy of its goal of 1,100 officers in 2021.
Albuquerque Police Department shy of 1,100 officers for 2021, recruitment efforts still underway
"When people call for a police officer, we want to have a police officer come out quickly," Rob Duren, an instructor at the Albuquerque Police Academy, said. "Right now, we just don't have enough bodies to get out there quickly."
Leaders are even struggling to create equal representation within the workforce.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, of the 927 sworn APD officers, 27 are Black, and none of them are women.
Raul Bujanda, special agent in charge for the state of New Mexico, said the FBI is also grappling with a lack of diverse teams.
"Our numbers still don’t represent the population across the nation, so our push is to make those numbers...
NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday alleged that the entire press conference conducted by Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Gaurav Gogoi was based on material supplied by ...